1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for treating cerebral edema or complication thereof using an herbal medicinal composition. More particularly, the herbal medicinal composition for treating cerebral edema or complication thereof used in the present invention can prevent brain tissue from being hypoxia and weakened blood vessels, decrease brain tissue damage, abolish the cranial nerves dissolution, and decrease size of intracranial tumor.
2. Description of Related Art
Medical terminology named cerebral edema, intracranial hypertension, or intracranial tumor haven't been specified in ancient documents of Chinese medicine definitely. There are no systemic studies for the pathogenesis or mechanism regarding to this disease reported by ancient physicians of Chinese medicine. However, according to the clinical syndrome observation and cognition of transformation and prognosis, “headache”, “dizziness”, “vertigo”, “epilepsy”, “head disorder”, “stroke”, “raged syncope”, “acute syncope”, “sudden syncope” and “hematic syncope” shown in ancient documents of Chinese medicine can be directed to this disease. Since intracranial tumor developed in human head is considered as a systemic disease involved in whole human body, both the local pains as well as systemic pathology in patients has to be concerned during treatments.
Cerebral edema is highly related to intracranial hematomas. While intracranial tumor is developed severely, necrosis and hemorrhage is frequently found in tumors, resulting in progressed obstructive edema and large area edema of brain tissue existed around tumor and exhibiting intracranial hypertension. Brain volume is increased due to the increased fluid content in brain tissue, and this symptom is called cerebral edema. In other words, the abnormally increased water content in brain leads to the brain tissue become larger and heavier. As a result, the raised intracranial pressure and cerebral hernia may be occurred in patient, and even cause the patient death.
Now, intracranial tumors treatment is often held through Western medicine, comprising: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.
Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is usually conducted as treating manner, in which mannitol or glycerol is used as the most common dehydrant agent. However, those dehydrant agent may change oxygen, H2O, and electrolyte contents in blood, and consequently increase side effects such as heart and kidney burden. Generally, for patients having the intracranial tumor size over 5 cm or severe symptoms like squeezing optic and auricular nerve, surgery combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy are major treating manner.
Nevertheless, cerebral edema is easily formed or getting worse after radiotherapy. Meanwhile, complications are shown after performing radiotherapy, for example, headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps, fatigue, skin inflammation and infection, hair loss and so on. These complications increase the risk for treating intracranial tumor, and patients suffer from terrible pain caused by these complications. Therefore, it is necessary to find safe and efficacious medicines or methods for treating cerebral edema or complication thereof caused by radiotherapy.